1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general relates to methods and systems for the exchange of specific information from one real estate agent to another and from an agent to a client and, more particularly, to methods and systems that provide this information over the Internet.
Currently, some real estate agents and brokers spend a great deal of time and money in maintaining a presence on the Internet of the type that allows for the exchange of information from agent to client. Having such capabilities, the agent may be able to send to the client a limited amount of information concerning select properties offered for sale through the Multiple Listing Service (hereinafter “MLS”).
However, these “agent-run” types of systems are limited in that they do not provide any mechanism that can make available for other agents in a given area any information concerning new properties (not yet appearing on the MLS). Agents would like to immediately know as much about such upcoming MLS properties as possible and then to be able to provide their selected clients with that information so that these selected clients can respond (i.e., make an offer to purchase or preview the property, for example) in a much more timely manner than is possible at present.
There are also a great many needs for both real estate agents and clients that are not presently being satisfied. This is partly due to the tendency that agents may have to keep certain information secret for as long as possible. For example, agents may refrain from disseminating information concerning upcoming MLS properties. There is insufficient incentive, at present, for them to do so.
The term “clients” as used herein, refers to those people (or business entities) who wish either to buy or to sell real property. Buyers and sellers each have their own unique needs and no existing real estate system well serves the combined needs of buyers, sellers, and agents.
Ideally, if such a system were available, agents would be spared from investing an excess of time, energy, and financial resources into building and maintaining what is a modest Internet presence, at best. Instead, they would be better able to focus their energies on that which they do best, the listing and selling of homes.
Agents would be able to subscribe to such a service, if it were available. The service, in turn, would then provide an effective tool for both the agent and their clients to use.
While MLS property information is important to make available to clients, it is also desirable to restrict its access from the general public. MLS information is either proprietary or confidential in nature. Sellers would certainly resist listing their property in an MLS type of an environment if they knew that this information would be distributed freely to the general population.
There are many information fields involving the selling of a home that should remain proprietary or confidential. Sellers, for example, would not want to be approached by idle curiosity seekers or from the almost innumerable vendors who would approach them if this information were available to the public, at large. Moving companies, charitable organizations, and other businesses would approach them in the hope of soliciting business.
Perhaps some people having unethical motives would even use MLS information to their wrongful advantage. A burglar, for example, could possibly learn which homes were vacant and for what periods of time.
Clearly, certain types of MLS information must not be released to unauthorized persons. In general, all types of MLS information should not be released except to selected persons who first qualify to receive that information.
No such automated type of a system presently exists for first qualifying a client and then providing a qualified client with access to selected MLS information fields.
The necessary criteria for qualifying a client to receive MLS information is satisfied by first establishing a relationship between a real estate agent and the client. In typical face-to-face or extensive phone conversational types of real estate encounters, establishing this type of a relationship is considered to the be the minimum criteria for receiving such types of privileged MLS access. The establishment of a committed type of a relationship is, therefore, required to occur first before access to such an automated type of a system, having access to select MLS data, is made available to the client.
As such, a screening process will have occurred whereby the selected MLS data is provided only to those people who are earnest enough to first establish a client relationship with an agent (or broker). As such, these types of people may truly be referred to, after having first established such a relationship, as “clients”. The act of first establishing a committed relationship with a particular agent well demonstrates their intention to be a client of one form or another.
As mentioned hereinabove, it is further necessary to restrict the viewing of certain fields of information from the general public. For example, a prospective buyer may not be permitted to view certain MLS fields of information that are considered proprietary and which are shared by the seller with the real estate agent. If it is later appropriate for the agent to provide a prospective buyer with this information, the agent may then personally do so after first having obtained the approval of the seller, either directly or inferentially.
An agent's time is also quite limited. There are also numerous related questions that an agent must answer and services that an agent must provide in order to satisfy both buyers and sellers. These factors intrude upon the agent's available time for important face to face contacts with his or her clients. It is desirable to automate the availability of this type of information so as to lessen the burden on the agent while making this information available in an especially timely manner to their clients.
Such a feature that would lessen the burden of an agent would, in turn, encourage agents to use (i.e., subscribe to) such a system. The more agents that use such as system would, of necessity, share information with the system and this would, in turn, make the system more informative to other agents. Accordingly, the value of such a system would increase in proportion to the number of agents who use it. Therefore, it is important that the system be of value to agents in the performance of their duties.
A number of other real estate needs exist as well. For example, it would be advantageous if agents and clients were able to view, on a geographical basis, a graph that showed the percentage of homes in escrow as compared with the number that are generally available for sale. Such a graph would indicate the type of market for a particular area, namely if it was a buyer's or a seller's market and it would be useful in both pricing properties and in helping to make a decision whether to purchase a property at a particular price or, conversely, whether or not to sell it at a particular price in view of these current market conditions.
Furthermore, review of changes occurring with such a type of a graph could be used to provide a timely indication of changes that are occurring in market conditions. The subscribers and users of such a service would be able to detect a change from one market condition shifting toward another market condition and this shift, itself, could influence their buying or selling decisions.
Similarly, an activity report that compiles and informs the listing agent of activity appertaining to a property the listing agent has for sale by other agents, and which compares this level of activity to other properties that are also for sale, would provide novel and useful information to the listing agent as well as save time.
Furthermore, if this information were provided by the listing agent to his client, the seller, the listing agent would not have to personally answer a myriad of questions regarding these types of activity.
The ability of a buyer-client (i.e., a prospective buyer) to view select comparable properties that are posted to a listing by the listing agent is useful in persuading the prospective buyer that the asking price is reasonable.
The ability of a buyer-client to track preferred (i.e., favorite) properties and to timely receive updates, for example, that would show if the price has been lowered or if the property has gone into or fallen out of escrow would also be of great value.
The ability of an agent to view the favorite properties file of his buyer-clients would be useful in that it would allow the agent to compare the stated needs of his client with the apparent preferences demonstrated by the client. The agent would therefore be better able to serve his client, either by showing properties that are more akin to the favorite properties of his client, or by engaging in further dialogue with the client so as to better determine the client's true needs and desires.
The ability of the agent to view the most recent properties that a client has been viewing is similarly valuable.
An ability of the agent to search upcoming listings is useful because the agent can then elect to pass on specific upcoming listing information to his select clients in a most timely manner. The client, in turn, would feel especially well-served by this level of “personalized” service.
An ability for a listing agent to FAX to the system a disclosure of property defects and other documents that was available only to other agents makes this information readily available to other agents who would share it only with their selected prospective buyer clients. This would preserve the secrecy of this information from unwarranted parties, yet make it available to prospective buyers. Accordingly, a method to better comply with the law would be provided.
An ability to provide a “Client Commitment” form to both prospective buyers and sellers upon initial log-on is useful in establishing from the onset clear agent-client relationships as a prerequisite for the client in obtaining access to view select and valuable MLS information fields.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a real estate information exchange process and system that has a data base accessible over the Internet (or an Intranet) to permit the exchange of such types of timely information between real estate agents and their clients that includes current MLS information and which also allows agents to exchange proprietary information amongst themselves that may then be selectively shared with certain of their clients.
Clearly, such a process and system would be especially useful and desirable.
2. Description of Prior Art
Real estate Internet based systems are, in general, known. These types of systems are limited in that they provide only an agent to client relationship. They burden the agent and do not permit agents to exchange proprietary information amongst themselves.
While the structural arrangements of the above described systems, at first appearance, may have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior processes or systems.